Smart Time Management
Have you ever done an assessment where you run out of time before attempting the last question, and to your dismay you notice it has some really easy marks? This is why managing your time is critical to show your true potential.
- The “One Mark Per Minute” Rule: For almost all GCSE papers, aiming for roughly one mark per minute is a golden rule. If a question is worth 6 marks, spend about 6 minutes on it. Following this system naturally leaves you with a few minutes safety buffer at the end of the exam.
It’s a good idea to check half way through the exam that you have attempted about half of the marks – that way you know you are spending the right amount of time on questions. - Do a First-Minute Scan: When told you can begin, do not write a single word for the first 60 seconds. Briefly skim through the paper, mentally recording the easier and more difficult questions. This will give you an important ‘heads up’ as to what is coming, and in the meantime your brain will subconsciously start processing the big-marker questions whilst you make a start.
- The 60-Second Cutoff: If you are staring at a multiple-choice question or a calculation and have no idea what to do, do not let it anchor you down. If you’re stuck for more than a minute, put a massive star next to it, skip it, and move on. Bank the easy marks ahead, and come back to the starred questions during your buffer time.
Checking Answers – the Right Way!
Many students finish 10 minutes early, close their booklet, and stare at the ceiling. This is where grades are dropped. Use those final 10 minutes strictly for checking, but do it with a strategy:
- Do Not Just Re-read: If you just passively read your own sentences, your brain will automatically skip over your mistakes because it knows what you meant to write.
Instead you must actively look for errors (you will have made some!). Maybe you forgot to answer a part of the question. (For example a question may ask you to include a hazard in your answer for describing a practical, and when you finished answering the question, you completely forgot about that bit.) - Check for Unit Conversions for Calculations: Especially true for Physics. Look for the traps of values being given in non-standard units, e.g. centimetres, which would need to be converted to metres before proceeding with the calculation.
- Check Backwards for Calculations: Redo the calculation, checking that the answer on your calculator is the same as the one you wrote down. (You would be surprised how many students make an error here.)
Also, if you are checking a calculation, try putting your answer back into the formula to see if both sides of the equation are equal – if they are not, you made a mistake. - The “Zero Mark” Check: Scan your paper specifically looking for blank spaces. Even a wild guess on a multiple-choice question or an educated stab at a 2-mark question has a chance of getting points. A blank space guarantees zero.
